Casting line container



y 8, 1962 T. J. LEDOUX 3,033,360

CASTING LINE CONTAINER Filed Feb. 12, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTQIL Tr LIE JAMES LEDOUX ATTORQ T. J. LEDOUX 3,033,360

May 8, 1962 CASTING LINE CONTAINER Filed Feb. 12, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, TKEEUE JAMES LEDOUX United States Patent ()fiice 3,933,360 Patented May 8, 1962 3,033,360 CASTING LIIJE CONTAINER Treihe James Ledoux, 58 Queen St., P.0. Box 268, Niagara-on-the-Lalte, Ontario, Canada Filed Feb. 12, 196i), Ser. No. 8,407 4 Claims. (Cl. 206-52) This invention relates to the combination of a container and an accessible line coiled within this container for use on vessels, wharves, docks and other places contiguous to water where line is required for various operations and functions. In particular, this invention relates to a line suitably coiled within a container and attached to a lifebuoy or other safety means for use in water-rescue operations.

It is known that rope and other kinds of line are usually kept in the form of an exposed coil on boats and other water craft and in general near water where line is needed for many diversified uses. This manner of keeping line suffers from the serious disadvantage of becoming tangled or snarled either within the coil itself or with other objects situated within the immediate vicinity of the line. This is particularly true when the line is put in use.

In addition, line in the customary coil form, presents the problem of inconvenient and difiicult storage and carrying of the line for ready accessibility due to the inherent flexibility and bulk of the line.

On exposure to the weather, the unprotected line will deteriorate necessitating expensive replacements of the damaged line.

These disadvantages are especially prevalent when dealing with great lengths of line.

The serious consequences which may result from the above disadvantages are very manifest in water-rescue operations where effective and timely use of line is of the utmost importance. A common mode of aiding a person in distress in water is to throw a ring-buoy attached to the end of a line to the person and after the person has taken hold of the buoy, tow the person to safety. It should be apparent that if time is wasted in placing the line in effective form, the rescue operation will be retarded at a time when seconds may mean the difference between safe rescue and a drowning.

The present invention overcomes the foregoing disadvantages by providing a combination of a container and a line, made of manila hemp, plastic, etc., coiled within this container which will pay out freely through an outlet in the end of the container when the ring-buoy to which it is attached is thrown. Since the line is conveniently and suitably coiled within the container, the line will not become tangled or snarled. Furthermore, the container can be carried and positioned for ready accessibility without possible interference with or from other objects and impairment of the line, by reason of deterioration, is substantially reduced through the utilization of the container as a protective covering thereby affording a longer effective use of the line.

The container of the combination of this invention can be outfitted with means, such as a handle, to enable a person to hold it with one hand while the other hand can be employed to cast the buoy.

Another convenient way to hold the container is by means of the line itself whereby the container is constructed with an outlet in the end of the container opposite the end through which the line is payed out, and the standing part of the line is passed through this outlet to form a loop on the outside of the container. It is always used by one person.

As the line is coiled in order to be readily and smoothly withdrawn from the container, the container has a cylindrically shaped body having a cover fixed to one end and a cover removably attached to the other end. Either end cover may have a flat surface or an outwardly projecting, cone-shaped surface, the latter being provided with a hole at its apex. The cover through which the line is payed out for the desired purpose should have an outwardly projecting, cone-shaped surface to ensure that the line will not snag or become caught inside the container.

The line coiled within the cylinder should be secured so that it will not become detached from the cylinder. Any suitable means may be employed for securing the line either inside or outside the cylinder. For example, the line may be knotted in the standing part of the line so that the knot will always be outside the cylinder and after the line has been payed out, the knot will hold fast against the rim of the hole at the apex of the cover.

The line can be in the form of one or more coils, preferably in the form of a coil wound on a spool. In either case the coil form allows the line to pass out freely and smoothly through the hole in the cylinder.

In the arrangement of the spool inside the cylinder, the spool can be permanently fixed to the remo-veably attached cover so as to form a hollow watertight vessel. In this Way the spool provides a buoyant effect to enable the container to float. This characteristic of the container would be particularly important where it is necessary to leave the container in the water or where it would be advantageous to cast the container. In addition, if the container is accidently dropped in the water, it would not sink.

It is believed that the spool should be wound with only one coil of line in order to ensure that the line will not jam when being withdrawn from the container. The size of the container, spool and line can be varied to accommodate diiferent lengths of line. Other changes to the structure and the arrangement of the spool in the container such as the means by which line is attached to the spool or the cylinder, or the means for either permanently or removably fixing the spool in the container, should be apparent from a reading of the description of this invention and therefore it is intended to include all such changes as within the scope of the invention.

In the drawings which illustrate embodiments of this invention;

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation view of one embodiment in which the line is in the form of one or more coils.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation view of an alternative in which the line is wound on a spool, and

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation view of the combination with a ring-buoy.

The combination illustrated in FIGURE 1 comprises a cylinder 1 having an outwardly projecting cone-shaped cover at each end 2 and 3, each cover being provided with a hole at its apex and one cover 2, being securely attached to the cyilnder while the other cover 3 being removably attached to said cylinder. The attachment of the removable cover 3 should be such that the force of the line being payed out against the cover will not separate the cover from the cylinder body. The handle 4 is attached to the fixed cover 2. The line 5 is coiled in one or more coils of continuous line within the cylinder and with the standing part 6 passing through the hole in the fixed cover 2 to form a loop fastened around the handle 4. The free end 7 of the line 5 passes through the hole in the removably attached cover. As a precaution against tangling or snarling of the line within the container, each and every coil should be wound starting at the end of the con tainer having the fixed cover.

In FIGURE 2, the combination illustrated differs from the combination in FIGURE 1 in the following respects. The cylinder 1 has a removably attached fiat cover 8, to which is attached a spool 9, so as to form a water-tight compartment. The line 5 is wound in a single coil on the spool 9 and the standing part 6 is fastened to a rivet 10.

The line can be simple and readily wound on the spool by detaching the removably attached cover and withdrawing the spool from the cylinder.

In FIGURE 3, the combination of FIGURE 1 or FIG- URE 2 is shown supported on a bracket 11 with a ringbuoy 12 which is supported on brackets 13 at a convenient place 14 on a boat for ready accessibility. In this connection, it may be advisable, in the case of the combination shown in FIGURE 2, to hang the combination so that the standing part of the line is in the lower portion of the cylinder as a precaution against the line dropping off the spool.

The container including the handle and the spool can be made of wood, metal, plastic, or any other suitable material.

The line to be payed out of the container can be attached to a life-buoy or other means, or the line can be simply employed in any of the functions or operations wherein line is customarily required.

The foregoing illustrations of the invention are but through, a. cylindrical hollow spool non-rotatably and coaxially mounted within said container, and a safety line wound in a single helical layer on said hollow spool and fixedly connected at one end to said container, said hollow spool being closed and hermetically sealed at both ends to provide a flotation chamber for preventing sinking of said container when dropped into the water.

2. Structure according to claim 1, said safety line being fixedly connected to said container indirectly by being fixed to said hollow spool.

3. Structure according to claim 1, the closure opposite said cone-shaped closure apertured at its apex for feeding of said safety line therethrough, having a bail-shaped handle bridging its central portion, said central portion being apertured and said safety line passing through the aperture in said central portion for being fixedly connected to said central portion for being fixedly connected to said handle and thereby to said container.

4. Structure according to claim 1 additionally comprising a bail-type handle bridging the central portion of the closure opposite the cone-shaped closure through the apertured apex of which said safety line is adapted to be fed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,974,862 Cryan Sept. 25, 1934 1,997,426 Morse et a1. Apr. 9, 1935 2,586,170 Lawrenz Feb. 19, 1952 2,924,039 Morton Feb. 9, 1960 

